


Rebuilt

by Chinah



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Dealing With Loss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rebuilding, Recovery, Referral to Past Trauma, Slow Burn, Spoilers, m/m relationship, or my attempt at it anyway, promare - Freeform, settling in
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21795104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chinah/pseuds/Chinah
Summary: {This is a continuation of the movie, starting the moment it ends and carrying onwards}Everyone has scars... but the ones Galo Thymos and Lio Fotia have are particularly deep, and *especially* bothersome to try and heal.Coming back from the brink of the end of the world is difficult, and figuring out how to move forward is tough, yeah, but at least they have each other to help them through it.Right?~Lio... hurts. He doesn't burn, for once. He doesn't scream, at least not outwardly, and he can't feel the insane pull of the promare prompting his anger, begging him to spread it. In the emptiness of his soul, he just feels... cold.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 14
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is just after the ending to the movie like i said; there are spoilers, so if you would rather wait to see these themes for yourself, please do. I wanted to see what would happen after the movie, so I figured why not wite it myself  
> if you are ready to hop in, go right ahead.  
> it likely depends on how im feeling, and if i can keep up around work.
> 
> i do have ideas for further chapters, so do check in occasionally.

The wind howls in his ears as he takes the moment to just… stare. At his surroundings, at the buildings they half-destroyed, at the crowds of people gathering so far down below them, it looked like a wave of sand, slowly shifting closer to this massive ship… the Parnassus. Anger pools beneath his surface once the reminder of what this beast _is_ crosses his mind, but the relief flooding through him barely takes the hit. Lio feels like he's in slow motion, his eyes sliding over to examine Galo beside him. Of course, the big buffoon looks victorious, caught all up in his own little world, Lio suspects. It's much like a king surveying his new lands... but without the greediness, or the evil in his eyes. Instead, it's like a king mixed with a child who's received the best present ever.  
  
Lio sighs faintly and shifts only for a moment, prepared to turn and finally get down to work, but an arm hooks up around his back and under his arms, nearly lifting him up off his feet as he's swung around to face the rest of Burning Rescue. Surprised, he opens his mouth to hiss about being grabbed like this, but Galo's too busy pumping his other fist up into the air.  
"OOOOKAY! Clean up officially starts: nOW! First, we need to rescue those burnish down there, then tackle what to do about this ship afterward!"  
Various voices of approval follow from the others, but once he's given the reminder, Lio's eyes widen and he nearly drops onto all fours, feeling like his heart's been punched out through his chest.  
The burnish... they're still down there.. How could he have forgotten?! They did have to save the world and all, and he was rightfully distracted, yet- hundreds, _thousands_ of his _brothers,_ his _sisters.._ Trapped below deck still, in what he imagines is confusion and darkness!  
  
Hurriedly now, urgency in every part of him as he scrambles out of Galo's grip and trips a few steps away, his hands twitching as though he _should_ be in flame, as though he should be flying, but isn't. This... grounded feeling, this awful wings-clipped feeling reverberates in his chest but he tries to ignore it. "How.. how do we get down there?? There are so many, and they're so far down.. they can't wait _days_ for us to save them!"  
  
Galo's expression hardens and one of his hands comes up to rub at his chin, his eyebrows pulling together and lips forming a thin line while a faint _hmmm..._ drifts by on the wind. "Well... My mech is MIA, and the spare one was melted when Kray went ballistic... We've got Remi and Varys' still, that'll surely help." Lio can't help but note the way Galo's eyebrow seems to twitch at the mention of Kray, or how his fingers tighten just faintly within those gloves. Kray had quickly been tied up and pushed out of the way, silent as death and still just faintly singed off to the side. Lio can't help but look again, just to see if he'd even moved since last the old leader of the Mad Burnish had checked, and still... he was statuesque. Silent, and unmoving. Lio wishes he could've done more than just take away Kray's Promare... but, without his own powers, the most Lio could do was refuse to forgive him. Ever.

"We might just have to wait for backup while Remi and Varys do what they can with their mechs." Ignis interrupts, finally stepping forward and setting his hands on his hips, much like a father figure out to clean up his kids' mess. Lio would find it funny if he wasn't worried sick. And so, after a call is made and two of the few remaining machines onboard try to squeeze down into the ship, Lio feels like ice is still forming in his chest.  
  


* * *

  
Getting into the belly of the beast is a little easier than they had expected. During the fight, Galo had drilled a straight path down to the holding chambers, and though only the smaller of the mechs could enter and exit through it, that was enough for now. Several of the other fire departments had quickly sent over manpower to help widen the hole, and to help get the burnish out, yet the more and more pods they opened, the more ashes they had begun to find. It was only every few pods that no longer contained a human, nor a burnish, but instead ash that clung to the insides of the holding chamber. Though thousands of ex-burnish had been rescued, Lio still couldn't find several different faces he knew... he _knew_ were captured, he knew were in there... Heris spoke about different wills, and different physical limits, but Lio finds his ears ringing, buzzing, _screaming._ It wasn't the Promare's voices in his head now, it was only his, screeching in pain over those they'd lost, those they couldn't have rescued. That stupid old man deserved it, but did the children who'd been captured deserve it too? Did the injured, the sick, the weak, did _they_ deserve it?

Gueira and Meis were untouched mostly, Gueira losing his pinky finger but finding it funny more than anything else, and oh boy were they excited to see their Boss, especially after saving the WORLD. At news of the losses, their faces drop instantly and they too hurry to release as many burnish as they can, but at the end of the day, with the ghost of the ship and the Parnassus project beneath their feet, only a fraction of the burnish who went in are able to walk out. Counting the heads, trying to remember how many pods they've opened, only about two-thirds of the burnish are alive and well after everything that's happened. Lio would explain what had happened to the Promare to them eventually, but for now...

Lio... hurts. He doesn't burn, for once. He doesn't scream, at least not outwardly, and he can't feel the insane pull of the promare prompting his anger, begging him to spread it. In the emptiness of his soul, he just feels... _cold._

Watching the burnish carefully taken to the ground by mechs, the various firefighters around him work like busy little ants.. He feels _cold._ And he honestly has to keep checking his fingers, just to make sure they're still there...

Lost in thought and crouched atop the highest corner of the fallen ship, he faintly rubs his thumb over the chipped nail on one of his fingers, wondering if he had hit it during the fight, or if it just hadn't come back when he ... well. Came back. The hustling and bustling across the entire roof of the ship continue in the background, but he can hear it winding down. Machinery leaving, metallic vibrations starting to wind down... Even the sky starts to hush as another day begins to break, and all too quickly Lio realizes he's _exhausted._ Has it been all night already?  
He feels too cold to sleep.  
Would this really be the first time in how many years that he had to sleep without Promare's constant warmth bubbling in his center..? Did he even remember what it was like to exist before he burst into flame and stopped aging properly?

Maybe it was obvious he was overwhelmed, and nearly ready to stop functioning. Maybe it was written on his face, how distraught he was. Either way, out of nowhere a soft hand settles onto his shoulder, sliding up from his shoulder blade and squeezing faintly. At first, Lio nearly turns around and punches whoever in the face, but after a quick shocked look, he notes that it's just.. Galo. That dumb blue hair, the way Galo seems pleased with the rescues, yet also conflicted... Lio assumes Galo saw the ashes too. And that he knows what Lio does, and that everything is good, amazing, but at the same time it's sad and hard.  
"Hey. C'mon, everyone's leavin', and you're coming. Can't just leave you up here, what kind of a fire _rescue_ worker would I be??" He teases, that hand on Lio's shoulder ever so gently turning him more in his direction. Lio rolls his eyes and pinches at the stupid little smile on Galo's face, taking one last long look at the horizon before he nods and pats at Galo's hand on his shoulder in an attempt to have him let go, but Galo takes it as an excuse to grab Lio's hand instead of his shoulder.

For half a second Lio nearly burns up in annoyance, but lets out a sigh and agrees to let it happen, just this once. Galo was warm, anyway.  
  


* * *

  
It's been a long day. For.. everyone in the world, really. The people of Promepolis gather what they can in order to weather the night if they were one of the unlucky hundreds to have broken homes and buildings, shelters and firefighters out working overtime to help anyone and everyone in need. Not Galo though, at least for now. He'd be on the streets helping in only a few hours time, especially considering his burning firefighter soul couldn't physically let him stay out of this for too long. He needed sleep though, and the ex-leader of a group of rampaging burnish who was out like a lightbulb in his arms only proved to remind him that they both deserved a well-earned rest.

Galo kicks off his boots in his doorway and yawns through a clenched jaw in an attempt to stay quiet enough for Lio to stay asleep. He feels like the walking dead, not even bothering to change into pajamas as he settles Lio into the blankets of his bed in his clothes, shoes, everything, then collapses onto the other side of the bed with a hard sigh. Today was hard. Tomorrow would be harder. They had a faint idea of how many were lost, but tomorrow they'd be taking apart the ship. Or at least, they'd start to. And they'd know how many holding pods there were... and they'd know how many they were too late to save. Knowing this chips at his heart like an icepick, but he just has to remind himself... They saved the _world_. Kray... Kray would have only saved ten thousand...  
  
Kray...

Thinking his name, just that, not even an actual voice saying it, feels like he's been slapped. Repeatedly. Kicked, punched, it's like he can feel Kray's fist in his gut repeatedly, the way he'd felt like every part of him was broken. Maybe it was the shock, or adrenaline that had refused to let this settle in so far, but now it stood before him like a wall of water, eager to drown him. Careful not to move the blankets or shake the bed too much, Galo holds a hand over his mouth as he curls up and lets a few tears slip. But a few turn into several, and several turns into no-end-in-sight. How could Kray have done this to him? To them? The gov... his hero, his model, the figure of perfection he strived to follow behind, to make proud... Every word, and action, double and triple checked so he didn't sour the Governor's reputation yet.. the world would find out tonight what happened, and who caused it. If there were any newscasters up and working so quickly, no doubt would they spread the word of _evil Kray, who wanted to leave the world behind._

The more he thinks about it, the more he can't stop the tears. And the harder it gets, and soon his eyes are squeezed shut and he can hardly breathe from how hard he's trying not to make a sound. Lost, in his own personal hurricane.

Though, the clouds are cleared almost instantly once a soft small hand finds his shoulder in the darkness, squeezes his arm and wraps around his chest... It might be the surprise, shame, or embarrassment for being found out, but he doesn't say anything. Thankfully, Lio doesn't say anything about it either, even as his body slides up against Galo's back, and his nose tucks into the crook of the firefighter's shoulder. Immediately Galo feels... at ease. He seemingly melts into the sheets and lets out a soft hiccuping laugh, his smile faint as he rubs at his face. He can feel Lio kicking off his boots, though the other must be too short to push them off the bed entirely, instead just shoving them _near_ the end of the bed.  
"I thought you were asleep." Galo mumbles, covering the small hand on his chest with his own.  
"You woke me up."  
".. Sorry."  
"It's okay. It'll.. be okay. We've got a lot to do when we wake up.. get some rest. Goodnight, Galo."  
  
"...  
But it's not night time;; it's actually the early morning..... the s-sun rose, ha ha ( _sniffle_ ) didn't you see??"  
"Shut up and go to sleep."  
"Yeah, okay.  
Goodnight Lio."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's... hard, getting used to the new setting. There are so many things that trigger bad memories.  
> So many things Lio isn't used to yet...  
> So many things Galo has to work through on his own...  
> They haven't even started the cleanup and already the mess seems to be growing.

The next day… or, well, the same day, just hours later when his eyes finally struggle to peel open, Lio feels like.. His entire body is a rock. His arms are like layers of cement, stacked up and glued onto his body, even though one has his fingers brushing over the heavily beating heart of Galo. It feels like a drum or a pounding speaker, Lio’s fingertips warm and comfortable, yet stiff, and aching. The more he tries to rouse himself, the more he realizes he feels like stone, as though all his muscles refused to continue working. Panic bubbles up in his center, and even after his hand has subconsciously curled up into a fist against Galo’s bare chest even through the fuzzy thick pain, he still can’t seem to move easily.

He can’t die like this, he can’t fade away when he’s so close, so CLOSE to a happy ending. So close to making the world a better place for ex-burnish, so close to just… everything.

He can hardly feel his _toes_ they're so cold, his leg twitching as he attempts to straighten it, but the pain of the movement is far too overwhelming for him to even think about.

He’d never felt like this before; it wasn’t as intense as the pod Kray had forced him into, or was it as bad as being punched so hard he broke through the top layer of cement in the ground. It was nothing like a fight or a speeding ice bullet.

This was _him._

Physically.

Something internal he can't control, and it scares him. He hasn't been this scared since... well. Honestly, it wasn't that long ago, at _max_ six or seven hours. But that morning felt like days, months like it had been a lifetime ago that he was _dying_. This didn't feel like that time, but he also had never felt like this before.

"I-I can't," He whispers out, sucking in a hard and afraid breath, starting to quiver at how hurt his lungs even felt. If he was dying, please just let Galo wake up, hear his voice, know that even if it had been a few extra hours together it had been the best he's had in decades.

Galo begins to stir at the sound of Lio's voice, only prompting for the shaken ex-burnish to draw in another stabbing breath, his eyebrows drawn together, eyes intense as he focuses on getting at least a last word out. "I can't move," His voice sounds, quiet, and squeaky from built-up tears he refuses to let out. If he's going to go out, he'll go out with pride, and in the arms of the most trusted person in his life. Gueira and Meis were close seconds, but only to Galo.

The heartbeat beneath his fingertips somehow instantly jumps, and Galo's hand flicks off a glove before quickly squeezing Lio's fist in his. He stays like that for a minute, drawing a confused expression out of Lio before Galo sighs in relief and unravels the fist. His thumb pressed against each one of Lio's fingertips before he rolls over to face Lio in confusion this time, eyebrow quirked.

"Your response seems normal, and you couldn't possibly be turning to ash. Your pulse is strong and healthy, so it's not your heart... Are you sure you're not just sore or something?" Galo asks while the confused pout on his face begins spreading into a smile.

The confusion hits Lio like a truck; why wasn't Galo taking this seriously? He might be literally dying here, in Galo's arms, and that idiot says he might be _sore?_

Lio can't stop himself from looking as irritated as he does, jaw clenched, teeth bared, eyes wide. He'd surely be on fire if this were yesterday, if this were mere hours ago... But it's not, so instead, he just looks betrayed and beside himself.

_"What do you mean sore?"_

Even with the obvious anger radiating off Lio at an alarming rate, Galo still finds the time to grin sheepishly, one of his hands sliding over to rub softly at Lio's shoulder. "Well, muscle is intact- not deteriorating or anything.. Lio, you've just slept after your first few hours of officially being a human again." Galo grins, leaning across the few inches between them just to press his lips to the other's forehead. Not obviously a kiss, but one no doubt. Neither of them mention it, since Lio's too busy looking thoroughly distraught.

"S-So what do I do??? How am I going to help today??"

"Don't panic, Lio!" Galo laughs out, shifting onto his back just so he can sit up forward, sighing at the stiffness he too was expecting. At least he's not panicking like Lio is. He's still in his gear from this morning, too.. Oh well. Should probably put on his spare uniform, and get to work. "We'll take some pain meds, and carry on the day."

"With pain like _this?!??!_ This, this is inhumane.. I don't remember humanity hurting this much."

"That's because as a burnish, you were constantly healing too fast by burning things to really get the hurt part from the soreness. It's when you take a muscle and push it too far beyond what it's used to! Liiike... when you taaake... a water balloon! And you pinch both ends, and you streeeeetch it!"

Okay, maybe the acting the motion out part is cute, Lio will admit, but he's still. Not doing so hot, even with such an _articulate explanation._

"And then," Galo continues, jerking both his hands as though they've hit resistance. "The balloon rips. That's what your muscle is doing when you're working out or doing activities they aren't used to. Being sore is just your body filling in the rips with more muscle, so you'll be ready for that action again!!!" Galo flexes with some sort of grin, obviously as a joke, or part of his super special presentation, yet... Lio finds himself floored. Oh right, that smooth sculpted chest that looks like it's begging to have Lio's hands touch it.... it's right there in front of him. Like, a breath away. If he so chose to right now, he could easily just pet the abs that give the word "washboard" a whole new meaning. Hurt in his arms be damned, he's tempted..

He doesn't though, instead, rolling his eyes and trying to drag his arms back to his chest. Galo continues to speak as Lio struggles, leaning over to tuck Lio into a ball and pull him over to the edge of the bed, just so he has a chance to get his feet on the ground. "As a burnish, those rips were healing much faster I think, any time one would have happened. Now that you don't have that luxury... You're gonna be feelin' this for the next week. Don't worry, I've got pain killers in the bathroom cabinet. Oh, and, you've gotta keep moving even if it hurts; if you don't exercise the muscles, they'll hurt more." Galo laughs here and there while he speaks, and honestly, Lio is a little impressed. He remembers Galo saying he was trained for emergencies, but knowledge like this off the top of his head? He still was obnoxious with the lesson thing... So, guess there's a push and pull.

Galos's eyes seem teasing yet still worried while watching Lio shudder and shake as he experiences what must be sore to the extreme.... even if he's only barely straightening out of the fetal position. He hasn't even sat up properly yet, or stopped leaning all his weight on Galo's hand...

Lio's breathing is easily labored from the concentration he's putting into this, ignoring the screeching of his muscles and forcing his feet onto the floor, and equally pushing himself to put weight on them, to stand up, anything... Galo is sweet, trying to help here and there, offering hands of assistance and some more random facts, but Lio isn't hearing it. "So, did you sleep okay? Sorry we couldn't get more rest; sleeping through the day would've been just as bad." Galo asks, swinging his own legs to the side of the bed, then stretches his arms over his head, sets his feet on the floor, and stands up easily.

Lio is admittedly jealous over the way Galo can just _stand_ like that, while his own feet remain a foot off the floor and quivering gently. But, at least the view is nice, what with the way Galo leans over to start digging through drawers. Oh, right. This is.. Galo's room? Now that he's remembered such a thing, Lio finds himself interested. A quick look around proves that firefighting is seemingly.. Galo's favorite thing in the world. He'd expected this much, considering in a fight to save the world from Lio's flame, Galo had put his all into it every time.  
"I slept... fine. I'm still tired... And everything hurts.. But. It's better than going directly from last night to today without even a wink.."

What he hadn't expected while glancing around was... surely;;; the near obsession-like quality of Galo's interest in firefighting. Posters were plastered along every wall, of other Fire Rescue teams, a newspaper clipping of a big event that must have happened in this area recently, as well as a note in the corner of the frame written in sharpie. Lio imagines it was a gift; and if it was still on the wall, Galo probably loved it just so much. He can imagine the way the dumb firefighter's eyes might have lit up, the way he seems to shine brighter than any flame Lio's ever seen. This Galo... this was a different Galo.

One different from the idiot he'd seen earlier, yesterday, even before that... This was.. a hurt Galo. The tears before they had fallen asleep had cut Lio into pieces, and the need to comfort him, and stop those silent sobs had been so great they woke him _up_. This Galo was introspective and freshly cut. Lio can note all the little ways Galo seems uneasy this morning, even in the process of pulling out clothes... A picture frame on the top of his bureau had been shoved down onto its face before Lio had a chance to even look. 

"Well, of course, we needed _some_ sort of rest. I'm strong, and pretty much the best, but I'm still human. Gotta get some Zs in, you know?"

Lio's curious, but he stays quiet other than a soft 'yeah, I know,' as the other digs around in clothes, pulling out a black shirt, another pair of his uniform pants.. (wasn't.. he already wearing a pair of those??) Galo hums as he continues digging around, even once he appears to have his own things in order; yet still, he's full of plenty surprises, making Lio jump as he's hit by a black shirt with the words "Burning Rescue" across the front in bright white, as well as a darker gray pair of what are probably the smallest pair of jeans that Galo owns, yet are still big looking to Lio. 

Galo turns, grabs his clothes in his hands, then grins. "Here, I'll take a shower first, since I'm pretty quick about it. You can wear those, so you aren't stuck in the ones you wore earlier all day. It's gonna be a lot of moving, so I think a warm shower will help your pain. I'll be right back." He hums, before seemingly disappearing out of the doorway, leaving Lio alone in his room.  
  


* * *

  
A few minutes go by, and then a few more... Looking at the digital clock on the bureau leads Lio to believe its been fifteen minutes already since Galo had gone. It should have been a short shower, right? Hopefully Galo hadn't slipped and slammed his face into the wall or something like that. Lio finds himself worried, despite the fact Galo's probably survived here alone for the past several years, he still.... feels like Galo will end up jumping off a cliff for fun unless Lio is there to stop him. Faintly, he takes a deep breath and decides to move; he'd been definitely zoning out and listening to the water run this whole time, but he figures it's just about time that he actually goes ahead and stands up. Maybe even gets risky and like.. walks.

Settling his toes to the floor, he groans as he scoots off the edge of the blankets, his eyebrows stitching together as weight is *finally* settled onto first one foot, then the other. God, he feels like such shit, should he even be moving?? Galo mentioned not moving would definitely not help, but did he really want to deal with this shit?? He first presses his feet to the floor and then pushes himself off the bed into a forced standing position. The fleeting victory is eaten up by the screeching of his thighs, and the whining of his calves... Even the muscles in his back hurt just from holding him UP.

Rubbing at the aching bits in his lower back, Lio collects the clothes he's been granted, before peeking his head out of the bedroom, curiosity in his eyes as he looks around. Well, somehow, the whole place is just as messy as the room. Sweatshirts slung over the armrests of a pull-out couch, hoodies hanging on hooks by the doors, t-shirts in a laundry basket by one side of the room and another open doorway to the other side. This must be an entrance room, and that the front door...

Despite being fully welcomed into this house, and given as much freedom as he wants, somehow he's still... iffy about it. It felt like looking through a diary with the way Galo's home directly referenced the stupid loud mouth Lio had come to call....... well. What.. would he call Galo?  
He can feel an internal debate coming on, so eagerly he moves through the open doorway, hoping for more distractions. Through it he finds a small kitchen, a hall to his left that he assumes the bathroom is down, and a single window, above the kitchen table. There are only two chairs, and maybe room for two plates on the table, though a sad-looking plant takes up a third of it. Lio finds himself automatically picking the plant up and moving it the few inches over onto the windowsill, where it seems to relatively perk up in the sunlight bouncing off the sill- even as he watches.

Feeling a little better about himself for whatever reason, he sets his clothes on the table and proceeds to paw through the cupboards and cabinets... at least, the ones he can reach. Nearly everything here is instant..... He has a feeling Galo can't cook as well as he can fight fires. Lio does happen to find teabags though, and once he spots a mug through the small glass window of another cabinet, suddenly he's insistent on making tea. He's never been a tea person before, but his body aches and he's going through Galo's stuff _anyway_ , why not go the extra mile and make them tea?

If Galo has it here, he probably drinks it, so Lio doesn't mind pulling down the teabags, climbing up onto the counter to pull out some mugs. His fingers are gentle as they pluck out the perfect ones; despite the fact he heard Galo is a rookie, he still finds what looks like a birthday gift? Maybe a Christmas gift? It's a mug, that looks like it once had sharpie on it on one side, then what Had to be the Burning Rescue logo on the other side. Even the logo looks nearly rubbed off at this point... looked exactly like a favorite mug would.

Inspecting it as he leans back to close the cabinet door, Lio catches the word "team" written in sharpie, surely piquing his interest... up until it drops all of two **_inches_** from his hand onto the counter, and suddenly splits from it's handle, both pieces skittering away over the counter from where he had been kneeling. The noise though, it struck him like a bullet. Loud, sharp, it's like his vision fades and is replaced by Kray's eyes, wild and mad. By the general's gun, the inky darkness of the barrel sucking him in before slamming into his chest. It's like he's there again, and he can feel it. The worst thing, the worst ice invention that could have been made. It sticks and it freezes, and he can feel his legs breaking into blocks of ice, and his chest freezing up, hard as ice.

He doesn't feel himself fall, and he barely hears Galo's voice, his bare feet thudding urgently over the wood. He doesn't feel anything but cold, not till those arms jolt him away from the floor before he hits it. His eyes are wide, his breathing is just tight strained puffs. He can't feel anything, not until Galo's hand is on his cheek, and his body is lost in the firefighter's arms. It's such a rush back to reality, Lio nearly feels lightheaded, a few surprised tears quick to rise to the surface and skitter down his cheeks. "I-I... sorry.." His voice stumbles out, his arm sliding over Galo's shoulder, holding him there, his fingers digging in and his torso shaking.  
  


* * *

  
Galo was eager to get out of the shower and back to Lio, obviously, but he couldn't help the way he seemed to freeze up there, once he had the warm water over him, and the soap stinging various scrapes he'd won from the battle. How relaxing it was to just... exist, beneath the warmth, the mindless white noise of the water droplets hitting his back, shoulders, neck, hair... There's so much going through his head, so much more than usual. It's as though the flat block of dirt that was usually his mind had been torn up with a rake, every smooth confident surface was now shredded into unease and insecurity.

This is stupid. Everything is... difficult, and his mind is a mess.

Minutes go by that he should have been done already, but he finds himself getting lost in thought, that storm from before that had cleared only for Lio had easily returned, dancing around in his head as though it was proud Lio couldn't shoo away bad thoughts in here.  
Why WAS he part of Burning Rescue still? Did he even still have a reason to be a firefighter, if the one he had become one _for_ had so quickly turned against him, turned the world upside down? His hero was a lie, his beliefs were lies, everything was...

Just. Confusing. He was being irrational, he's just taking his own hurt out on himself. Galo knows why he's a firefighter, even _after_ being broken like this. He aims to _save_ people. Protect those who can't protect themselves.  
Today he was going to do just that. Starting with Lio, then the _rest_ of the city!!  
He's eager again as he hops out of the shower, drying himself off then shaking the water out of his hair (why use the towel, it just causes knots... dogs are so smart) and slipping on his clothes. He's sore too, but he doesn't mind as much as Lio. It's just a gentle ache here and there, but the bruising from the fight shows up so easily against his pale skin and dark shirt, peeking up over his shoulders, up his arms, on his wrists. He doesn't even remember how he got most of these, but whatever.

Galo hums as he holds up his sleeve, debating on whether or not he should put it on... Did this even matter now? Everyone had been burnt in some way or another, was it really so necessary to cover his burns up now..?  
Well. He'd feel more comfortable with it on..

His fingers fiddle with the strap for a moment, his eyebrow twitching as he works to make it loose enough to slide under his shirt. He'd tighten it after everything's all set and in place, yeah, if he'd even gotten that far. The sound of ceramic cracking has his attention almost instantly, his heart lurching at the thought Lio might be hurt. Quickly he jumps out of his small bathroom and into the short hall, just to see Lio reaching for the cupboards in some attempt to catch himself before he teeters and stiffly _falls off the counter_.

It's like it happens in slow motion, Galo is there before he's even realized what was happening, his arms hurriedly cocooning Lio's fall even if it sets him off-kilter and has them both on the floor, albeit a little slower and safer than the initial topple off the edge.

His heart is hammering in his chest as his eyes search Lio's soft pink ones, everything feeling cold once he notices the other is just faintly unresponsive. His breathing is quick, like he's struggling, and his eyes seem distant. "Lio?? Lio, hey, are you okay?" He asks, even though it's obvious Lio is really _not_ okay. Even a one-worded response would be enough to say Lio is reacting, but the break in the other's freeze doesn't happen until desperately, Galo has a hand on Lio's cheek, holding his face closer, tilting the other's chin upwards, searching those eyes for any sort of consciousness. It all happens in seconds but to Galo it feels like twenty minutes until Lio seemingly blinks away this.. _attack_.

The firefighter couldn't be more surprised when tears start to run down the other's face, or when he clings for dear life in a hug. Maybe it was because Galo was the only one nearby. Maybe it was because Galo was the only one he _could_ hug.

He doesn't complain though, a relieved sigh blowing out of him as he crosses his legs in his new spot on the floor, ushers Lio into his lap, and surrounds the smaller one like a blanket.  
"What was that?" He asks though, obviously confused and concerned but glad Lio seems to have snapped out of it. He still shudders though, here and there. Maybe.. They needed the rest of the day here. Just to relax, and cool down. They're both just far too wound up...  
"I.. I don't know." Lio whispers, his fingers gripping at Galo's shirt, as though he'd even move away.  
Galo sighs gently but doesn't mind just sitting here, being the comfort Lio needs. The shoulder to lean on. "That's okay. What were you trying to make?"  
"Tea.."  
"Sure, we'll make tea. Do you wanna see my matoi themed toothpicks? You stick 'em in any drink, and it makes it a _fancy_ drink."  
"Pfft.... sure.."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a short rest, finally the gang can get together. Answer some questions, and start to tackle the issue of what to do about the burnish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi hi welcome  
> :3!

Galo has been sitting here sweating for like twenty minutes straight. The tension in the room has been palpable since the rest of Burning Rescue Squad 3 decided to cram themselves into the apartment. Ignis hadn't showed up, far too busy helping to coordinate the help teams alongside the other rescue squads in the area. Even if fires are done for, for now, people still need a lot of rescuing. Thankfully, after being in the center of the trouble though, Galo's particular squad had been given the a-okay to relax, at least for a few hours. Galo's fellow members proceed with caution as they find places to set up shop within his small-ish apartment, seemingly unsure about how to finagle comfy positions.

Remi sits on the very end of his pull out couch, looking a little.. disgruntled about the number of dirty clothes lying around, but hardly seems to mention as much. Varys seems to take up half the couch himself, Lucia sitting on the arm of the couch beside him, while Aina crosses her arms and instead leans against the wall by the door. No one says anything after everyone's settled in, not yet. Even Lio seems to look a little stressed about why the tone in the room seems to have shifted, as though the air is burdened with holding back waves of questions.

Galo tries not to look at least a little nervous, instead opening his mouth to defuse the tension, yet Aina speaks just a little faster.

"So what now?" She asks, unsure eyes meeting Galo's, as though he's the only one who knows. His knee starts to bounce from excess anxiety, his arms crossing over his fresh black t-shirt. He can feel Lio's gaze on his face too, even if it's over the rim of a mug full of tea. So.. What WAS his plan?? Galo isn't the leader, nor is he anything more than a rookie, but apparently being on the frontline to just EVERYTHING landed him the brand new position of 'person everyone looks to for answers.' Can he even say he knows enough to fix everything?? He certainly doesn't have those answers, but he can surely try.

"That could mean a lot of different things, Aina." Remi responds, crossing his arms and letting out a soft sigh. "Give him a question he can answer. What is your next step? _Our_ next step? They still haven't elected a temp Governor, which is kind of understandable. It's hardly been a day. The burnish have been settled down into shelter for now, but there are so many that we needed to use several shelters across the city to actually find enough room for them. The ones we rescued have mostly come out unscathed, but. We've been asked a lot of questions."

"Questions... we can't answer. Because we don't know what happened." Varys adds, crossing his arms and leaning back against the sofa. His head brushes a picture frame on the wall, but he hardly seems to notice. Lucia scratches her chin, tilting her head then sighing. "Thing is, I've got barely any recordings considering the equipment was trashed, AND- I _myself_ have so many questions- where did you get that mech?! How did it run successfully off of Lio if the OTHER attempts at harnassing the burnish's powers ended up in torture chambers!?"

Galo blinks, and then runs his hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh. Wow, he'd almost forgotten that only Aina had been there for the whole.. Dr. Deus, Deus ex Machina reveal.  
He laughs at just how stupid this would sound, catching a few confused but interested glances from his coworkers before he takes in a deep breath, and starts to speak.

"Welll... let's... start from the part you guys remember. Lio went on this rampage, and I, the city's number one firefighter, put a stop to his tantrum." He catches a glare from Lio out of the corner of his eyes, to which he grins sheepishly and continues. "I had to distract him, or else he would have killed himself, or half the city. So I shoved him into the back of Aina's plane, and we fought on the inside a little bit."  
"A lot'a'bit." Lio pipes in.  
"Okay, maybe a lot. Aina dropped us into the frozen lake I hang out at a lot, but Lio was so pissed that his flames melted the entire thing!! Poof, gone!! Just like that, everything got so hot it evaporated!!"

"And.. you didn't _die_ from being that close to him, especially like that???" Remi asks, shock in his voice.  
Aina sighs. "Of course not, he's the only one I've ever seen cloaked in burnish flame that hasn't instantly mutated or burnt away to nothing."

Galo flings a finger to his lips to shush them, before continuing. "And there was this big underground base that had been beneath the ice!!! Lio melted everything so fast, that it was completely dry. Aina thinks it might have just been in a pocket of air underneath the ice, but I-"  
"That's what my scanners indicated,"  
"Aina shush!! I'm trying to tell the story!!  
I thought Lio's flame might have just evaporated everything so fast, that the big structure thing wasn't even wet!

And then, some robot guy named Doctor Deus-"  
"He was artificial intelligence, Galo,"  
" _Lio,_ c'mon, I'm trying my best, you know!!!"

Galo's hands have started to move as he speaks, his entire body up from the stool he'd been sitting on. Lio doesn't seem surprised that he's already up and motioning out his story, but Galo can tell he's paying attention anyway.  
"So this doctor guy, turns out he got murdered by Kray.... and everything that Kray had made and sold, and patented and thrown his name on, it was all Dr. Deus'... And all of them were tested on burnish by Kray, but I'll tell that story some other time.  
Dr. Deus was apparently a super important guy who studied the burnish, n found out that their flames were like.. aliens. Living in the earth, and the more burnish that Kray hurt, the worse the earth was getting, cause they were connected. But the worse the earth got, the more burnish Kray hurt to make his stuff go faster. Dr. Deus showed us on a bunch of brain TVs inside his big huge lab ship thing underground that Lio Aina n I followed him into."  
  
Aina clears her throat and makes a loud _harumph_ noise from her corner, pouting as she interrupts again. "I only followed because you two idiots just walked on in after him like it was no big deal! Didn't anyone tell you about stranger danger!? Even Lio basically shrugged and walked in without a second thought!"

Lio laughs, putting down his tea and pulling the blanket that had since been wrapped around his shoulders much closer, his eyes playful even as he butts in. "Hey listen, I was in a pretty dark place! I was seconds from fighting Kray head-on and basically dying, you think I was gonna question a random hologram guy who tells us that he's been waiting for us? Even if he had ill-intent, I didn't have the will to bother double-checking. Plus... Galo was gonna follow him. I also had to make sure _he_ was gonna be okay."

Remi looks exhausted just hearing about all this stupidity, Varys laughs warmly at how he's probably not surprised, and Lucia scribbles down notes, her pencil going absolutely nuts as she records every word Galo says. At least that's what he assumes she's doing. If she's drawing him in a bikini again, he's going to gently place her in a trashcan, tape on a lid, and put her out by the curb for the trash truck to pick up first thing tomorrow morning.  
Galo's eyes slide over to peek at Lio, honestly pleased to hear Lio followed him just to be sure he was okay.

They've... really gotten along, huh?

"We um," Galo starts again, trying to find his train of thought again; the temporary warmth blossoming in his chest had surely distracted him for just a moment. "We found the Doctor's cool mech... it was a perfected version of the burnish engine Kray was using. So it didn't hurt Lio to use, it ran off the promare- that's what he named the fire aliens- and so we powered it!! It was super lame at first, but Lio made it look pretty awesome before he did that, it looked awful, like some sort of bubble suit!"

Lio snorts, running his fingers up his neck to gently scratch behind his ear. "Well, I had to. He was such a baby about it, I couldn't friggin believe it. We plowed head-first into the ground just because he _'couldn't get into the zone'_ because the _'design was too bad.'_  
From what I've seen, I can't say I was super surprised, but... is he ALWAYS like this???"

Varys nods knowingly, scratching at his jaw and glancing over towards Galo. "Well... Yeah, absolutely, haha! Once he's got his mind made up, that's it. There's no dissuading him, no pushing him out of it... He's kinda hard-headed, but I feel like the squad would be incomplete without'im." He grins, the smile surprisingly bright. Galo's glad, the air in the room is starting to feel less tense, his friends are warming up to Lio and everything just feels... better.

After a few more giggles at Galo's expense, prompting a whiny complaint from him, Lucia finally butts in to change the subject back to.. more serious things.  
Holding up her phone to her face, squinting so much it might as well be audible. "That reminds me... I made a note earlier... Lio, you have two people looking for you I think. Some of the ex burnish are like, desperate to hear back from you, and refuse to really talk to or interact with the EMTs. I tried talking to a few earlier, but only the two answered." She flicks a few things on her phone, her nail tapping here and there as she goes. Finally, she lifts it up for Lio to see what appears to be a blurry picture of the people Galo recognizes as the two second-in-commands that Lio had.

Lio's eyes widen ever so barely and he nearly jumps from his seat to get a closer look; the quick action causes everyone to freeze up just faintly, but once they notice it's harmless, everyone seemingly melts into comfort again. Galo can't help but notice how despite everything, everyone's on edge. He figures it's only to be expected, after everything.

* * *

"You remember where these two are located?" Lio asks, his heart thumping in his ears. It's like he's double-checking, triple-checking. It felt like he hasn't seen them in years, despite helping rescue and promptly relocate them and the rest of the burnish just hours before. Speaking of which, why had he let himself be carted away to Galo's home.. rather than joining his brothers and sisters, choosing a spot on the floor in the shelter, and napping there? He fell asleep earlier during one of the rides, sure.. He certainly hadn't expected to wake up here. Or stay as long as he did. Maybe he was just so exhausted he had to just let the troubles roll over him for a moment, let him rest for just a second.

Now though, they swarm him again, as though angry he'd forgotten.  
He was sat on Galo's bike by now, a little pissy about how it didn't contour and shape to his body like Detroit did once. He also had never actually ridden on a motorcycle with like.. someone else. He wasn't sure how to feel about Galo sitting in front of him, or the fact he'd have to hold onto the other in order to stay on the street bike at all, but if it's the only real way he can get around now... whatever, he'll go along with it.

His fingertips sit on Galo's waist, his face feels like it's burning up, his knees poke into the outside of Galo's thighs... this feels a lot closer than he'd expected it to be.  
Galo laughs at Lio's question, either way, tilting his head to peek down at Lio over his shoulder.  
"It's like, a straight shot, except we gotta take a few turns near the end, but otherwise it's like... really easy. It's pretty much the nearest place. Hold on tight okay, I'm gonna try to get there fast."

"I've ridden a bike before, you simpleton. I'm pretty sure I actually ran you over with my motorcycle in our first fight." Lio rolls his eyes, tightening his arms around Galo's torso as if to insist he's ready.  
Galo huffs, and grumbles back an argument, but the sound of the tires screeching and the wind blowing past as they take off eat his words right up. Lio was glad to feel the wind on his face again, through his hair, and sneaking in through the neck and sleeves of his slightly too large t-shirt that tries to escape his body in the wind.

Simultaneously, it's too cold, but also refreshing to feel free again.

He finds himself laughing from the rush of the ride, half-standing on the footrests in the back in order to lean over Galo's shoulder and see the road before them, opening up like it's full of infinite possibilities. He'd really honestly need to get another bike for himself. Maybe... Burning Rescue would give him one.  
He'd promise to use it for good deeds only..

The ride is surprisingly pleasant. He thought it would be awkward hanging onto Galo like this, but in actuality, it's comfortable, and causes a soft warmth to build up in his chest. It's not a warmth like the Promare used to cause, one that surged through him ruthlessly. This was.. different.  
Again it was just.. him. Something he didn't control and... was surprised to consider pleasant.

He can see the shelter a long ways off, from how many familiar figures hang around outside it's continuously opening and closing doors. Several faces pop up to look over once the motorcycle screeches to a stop, sparks of recognition flashing in every eye once they notice Lio hanging off the back, and hopping off (much to Galo's dismay) before the bike's even come to a complete stop.  
Eagerly he rushes into the crowds, taking up the hands of his people, his friends, just to make sure they're okay.

Of course, everyone gathers around him like ants protecting their queen, even children hurrying to see Lio Fotia... ex-leader of Mad Burnish.

Even in the course of a minute or two, finally interacting with them, he hears about their struggles. Husbands, wives, children, parents... so many who went into the machine and never returned. Families spread out over several shelters in attempts to fill in the empty beds, siblings separated and desperately looking for each other. Tears sting his eyes and a sourness builds in his heart, one that sings the doom of Kray Foresight the more and more he hears.

He doesn't have answers to where anyone might be, but he does have answers as to where their next steps lead. His job now is to tell them what's happened.

Walking into the shelter is a lot like the outside was, but amplified by hundreds. The sound in the building starts to kick up a roar like he's never heard, voices yelling for him, cheering for him, from every corner of the building. He can feel emotions welling up inside him like a flood, so eager to pour out in relief? In sorrow? There are so many things that have happened in the last day and a half, everyone must be in the same confusion he's in. Shock is still evident in everyone's voices, expressions, body language, but it looks like actual treatments for injuries were being handed out, at the very least.

With a soft breath, Lio climbs up onto a chair and claps his hands together, a weak attempt for everyone's attention, yet it works like a charm.  
"Listen everyone. We have some things to talk about." He says, his voice low and calm, but surprisingly strong sounding, and loud enough to fill the building's hollow insides.

He takes a deep breath and readies himself for quite the speech.... up until two voices break the silence.

"Boss!!"  
_Boss!!! HEY!!!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope today's chapter was okay. Sorry for the inconsistent updates!  
> also about the fact its a little longer than the usual chapter today!!  
> As always, if it's your birthday, lmao hey happy birthday  
> if you're feelin particularly nice after today's update, lemme know how im doing uvu  
> see you next time :3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ex-burnish have a lot of questions, and for good reasons. Some had been burnish for weeks, and some had been burnish all their lives; how do you suddenly explain that, burnish no longer exist? Lio's gotta find a way to tell his people as much, and Galo has the utmost confidence in him.  
> Galo just hopes Lio believes in him too.

Their voices cut through the bated breath of the room instantly. It was a shock to hear them again, remnants of the life he'd had only days ago- he'd have a proper tearful reunion with them in a moment, one that isn't cut short by rescue operations. But for right now he holds up a hand, and only faintly shakes his head. Right now, he had to be the boss everyone expects him to be.

With a deep breath, he gets the word 'I-' out, before another loud "BOSS!!! _HEY!!!!!"_ breaks the quiet, this time sounding much closer in the sea of people. Rolling his eyes, Lio pinches at the bridge of his nose and lets out a loud sigh.  
"Give me half a second, I'll walk over and see you once I'm done, I have important news for everyone... Just....shut up already." He huffs in annoyance but still looks so soft as he tries to hide the small smile, clearing his throat and starting over.

"I know you're... confused. All of you are. The last thing we went through together was probably a blue blur to a lot of you. I should start with the.. first thing. As of today, we- everyone- are no longer burnish. I'm sure everyone knows by now, that we are starting to hurt again. We're starting to feel again. Cold, warm, aches and pains. Our bodies aren't immortal anymore, not now that we aren't burning. Now that we're no longer burnish.

The world might always consider us monsters, and they might always call you burnish, but know that today, you are officially human. To those who have never experienced humanity before... and to those who hardly remember what it is. It's not an easy life, but I believe you can make it. I believe we all can make it. Over the next few months, we're going to be rebuilding the city of Promepolis alongside everyone else, and..  
We won't be outed anymore. We won't be pushed into the crevices of humanity... We're free to do as we please. Live how we like.

The Promare, the flames that burnt in everyone's souls, they're gone now. For good. I synced with the main source of Promare that was living in the center of the Earth, the flames that were destroying the Earth the more we hurt and.. I burnt them out. Gave them what they were asking for.  
What they were asking all of us for...

I know it's a shock for some of you, and believe me it's a shock for me too.  
And.. I know not everyone made it out of there alive. I know not everyone was able to see today in person. But know that they look down upon us today, and know that we did it."  
  


* * *

  
Galo can't believe the tears that he can feel in the room. Children sobbing quietly into their fists, adult men and women with tears in their eyes, some of the younger teens sniffling and hurriedly wiping at their faces while others held stone-cold expressions. Galo can't help but end up wiping at his nose in an attempt to keep from obviously getting worked up; maybe it was just... he's too quick to sympathize, to empathize. It was like the feeling in the room was so heavy it was weighing down his shoulders.

No one really got out without losing SOMEONE they knew. He wonders how many of the piles of ashes were ones that Lio had known personally. His heart aches at the thought. He wonders how many faces he's seen in his lifetime that he wouldn't ever see again. Nameless, featureless faces he doesn't remember, doesn't recognize but were permanently wiped off the face of the planet. He wouldn't even notice they're gone, wouldn't be able to see the empty spots in the crowds...

Galo bites his lip to prevent tears from poking at his eyes, struggling to continue watching Lio, up on that chair. He can tell from the tint of the other's face that he's nearly crying too.  
Lio always was in tune with the burnish's collective well-being. Galo worries over whether or not Lio will be okay after this.

"Spread the word, tell the others. It's time to step into the light again, for all of us to live normal lives again. And I'll be by your sides, every step of the way." Lio promises, one of his hands clenching into a fist over his chest, baggy t-shirt and all.  
"And.. hah... technically, since we're all going to start aging properly after today... happy birthday, everyone. Thank you for listening." Lio ends off with a sweet but sad-looking smile, hopping down from the chair and into the waiting arms of his people. He takes hands into his own, hugs those who look like they really need it, and makes small conversation here and there. Galo doesn't move from the doorway, watching that soft head of iridescent hair shift through the crowd, glaringly obvious even with how far he fades into the bodies in the room.

Questions are still shouted at Lio from over the heads of the people, and he does his best to answer them. Quickly, he gets overwhelmed though, Galo can tell even from this distance. He slowly weaves his way back through the crowd, that bright head of hair making a beeline as it heads back over to him. Honestly... he feels much better knowing Lio is at least coming back for him. Not that he felt abandoned, or left behind. Just that.. it's easier to keep an eye on Lio when he's nearby. It's... weird to explain, but he feels better to know Lio is close.

* * *

This hurts, a lot more than he thought it would. But he has to be brave, has to stay strong. For them. For everyone here, he has to keep up this image of a fearless leader, who has the faintest idea of what's going to happen to them. He's confident that the world would understand that Kray's lies weren't true. That they'd be able to live like normal people again.  
Or, rather, that's what he hopes will happen. With the deepest parts of his heart, he prays for this to be the future.

He's been out of the crowd of fellow ex-burnish for all of two and a half steps, barely has had time to open his mouth and greet Galo and to begin looking for the two idiots he shut up before his speech, but he's hardly surprised to find that they found him first.

The two top ex-generals of his, the top brass, easily slam into him like a tidal wave and usher a yelp out of him as they do. If he'd been expecting it, he surely would've barely been nudged, but here with the surprise of being hit from behind, Lio nearly falls on his face. His hands rush forward to stop him from hitting the floor, but thankfully he's pulled out of his harsh descent into a faceplant by the tightest of hugs; from none other than Gueira. Meis stands nearby with his hands shoved in his pockets, looking pleased while the excitable other makes sure to squeeze the affection right back into Lio.

"Boss!!! Sorry for interrupting your speech um. Twice." Gueira laughs, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning forward to inspect the other. Lio grins just to see them both still perfectly okay; Gueira's hand is still noticeably bandaged, and Meis' hair seems the slightest bit shorter, but surely not enough for Lio to actually ask about.

"No, really it's okay.. I'm the one who should be sorry for basically disappearing..." Lio laughs, rubbing the back of his neck and tilting his face away from the two; hopefully, so they can't read his expression. "I've been really busy."

"Well no shit, Lio." Meis interrupts, nudging gently at Lio's shoulder. "Sounds a lot like you saved the world. And us, our _people._ I think you deserve a bit of alone time to rest after that."  
"It doesn't matter if I _deserve_ it or not. It's the point of the matter... I'm the leader, okay? I have to act like one."  
"But you don't have to do it all yourself, boss! Meis and I.. we're your second in commands!! That's right, we're here to help."

Lio rubs at his face out of annoyance, but the two standing before him looking far too proud of themselves.. they hardly seem to take it as an insult.  
"Fine, fine you can help.  
But only because I want to lead them right.. and with how tired I am, I don't think I even _could_ do it in my own.  
Gueira, Meis, I want you to spread the word. Let everyone know what's going on. We aren't burnish anymore, and the word is gonna spread around the city like wildfire whether or not we're ready for it. We're gonna make it back into society, and that I can promise. Make sure you help get whatever families we can back into order. Get everyone's names and which shelter they're in down in lists, and send them back to me; I'll see what I can do about rearranging for now. I'll be working closely with the rescue teams to figure out how to go about this... I want this to work."

"So is that the _rescue team_ you're gonna be working with?" Meis pipes in, jutting his head over in Galo's direction. There's a shit-eating grin on his face, but also a confused tilt to his eyebrows. His voice gets quieter as though Galo could hear him from his spot against the wall. "Hey.. boss.. isn't that the idiot who we let catch us that one time?"  
"It looks a lot like.. the very same one, Meis~"  
"Gueira, shut up. You too, Meis. He's... stupid, yeah, but he's also the one who saved my life." Lio mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.

The reveal is enough to blow the teasing off his friends' faces, both Gueira and Meis seemingly unsure if they believe Lio or not. Sure, they recall listening to Lio rant about how Galo is an _EMT_ and prepared for stuff like that, but hearing _Lio_ , strongest of the Mad Burnish was close enough to death that Galo had to step in was kind of a shock. Gueira still sort of laughs out of surprise more than anything really being funny, his arms crossing over his chest and just slightly tightening there. His bandaged hand even seems to dig into his arm. Lio imagines it hurts.

"Are.. you okay?" Gueira asks, looking more serious this time.

Lio lets out a long shaky breath. "I don't know. I don't know if it's the stress or everything that's happened, but... I've been a little all over the place."

Meis lets out a small sigh and reaches forward to gently squeeze Lio's shoulder. His eyes are soft, and understanding, despite their usual chaotic energy. "If you had never become part of Mad Burnish, I don't think we would have ever survived this. So it's all thanks to you, Lio. If you need a break, take it; you saved the world after all.  
Plus... Gueira and I have been the top brass for Mad Burnish for a few years now.. We know what we're doing. At least a little, anyway."

Lio can't help the smile at that, nodding gently and tucking his hands into his pants pockets.  
"Thanks, guys."  
"Leave it to us."

* * *

He's quiet as his hands gently cling to Galo's shirt, his cheek resting between the firefighter's shoulder blades. Lio is tired... exhausted, even. He'd spent another hour meeting up with the other shelters, talking to whoever he could. He's handed out orders as a boss does... yet.. he doesn't feel like a good leader. Not if he's hanging off Galo like this (even if it's specifically for a ride and nothing else.)

(And definitely not anything else.)  
(He's not cherishing the fact he can listen to the strong heartbeat that somehow seems louder than the bike and the wind combined.)

Admittedly though, he doesn't pay attention to where they're going. He only notices this doesn't seem to be where Galo's house was located once the bike stops on the curb, and Galo flicks out the kickstand. It looked a lot like... a corner cafe. Awnings sit above outdoor seating areas, and plants decorate big windows in the side of a brick building. It was cute. But.. Lio couldn't understand why they were there. The sun is setting already, casting weird shadows over the street. Most of the buildings had broken, at least a little. The small earthquake that the Parnassus caused when it slammed back into the earth had jostled around the nearest buildings in the city easily; Lio is sure that they cleaned up most of the rubble on the ground while he was napping earlier, but the evidence still sat everywhere.

Galo hums as he climbs off his bike and stretches, offering a hand to help Lio off it too. Which, he ignores and climbs off himself.  
"Where are we?? I figured we'd be heading back to your place or something."

"I figured you deserved a small break, or reward, or whatever you wanna call it. You worked hard today."

"All I did was promise everyone I'm going to be able to help, going to be able to do something, even though in the eyes of the COUNTRY I'm just some treasonous asshole who burns things for fun." Lio kicks harshly at the pebbles of the sidewalk, even as he follows Galo towards what's unmistakably a pizza parlor.

"That's not true; you gave them all hope. And that's a lot, that's.. monumental. Hope can light the way in any darkness, regardless of what it faces. Hope is what brought me back to you.  
...;;;  
E-Either way!! We deserve a break."

"Hasn't our day of doing nothing been a break?"

"I really want pizza."

"Pfft. Okay, fine. Let's find a spot to sit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays everyone!!  
> Hope your days went well!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (((reupload w/ edits)))

Everything is... dusty. Everything in the city, everything in the world, really.  
As they step along cracked brick pathing up to the door of a pizzeria (or _the_ pizzeria as Galo calls it), Lio feels... weird.  
Knowing that in a way, this was.. a lot of his fault.

Families sit outside in the patio seats, under the umbrellas and the sidings of the building; eating happily even with crumbles of concrete by their feet. Picking up after an earthquake was never easy- especially something like the entire world breaking apart from the inside out, then a ship the size of a city all on its own slamming back into the earth- yet.. It was still so surprising to see so many buildings.. mostly intact. The architecture had gotten pretty advanced since the Great Blaze, obviously to try and avoid tall buildings entirely collapsing after one or two beams burning away, but, Lio hadn't expected so much to look perfectly fine.

Only the ones directly near the Parnassus had received the worst of the worst; the rest of the city was rebuilding fast.

Despite guilt gently wedging into his gut, he swallows it all down as they take a step into the building. The inside has remnants of the earth-shattering quake, obviously- windows that are slightly patched up with tape and wood before their replacements come in, rubble from the ceiling swept into neat piles in the corners, and someone working tirelessly on fixing the side of the brick oven's special waist-height counter.

Families who look sad yet relieved crowd into booths and tables; chairs are pulled up from unused areas, folding metal chairs have been brought out from the backroom- everything to accommodate. The thought that half these people probably have no power and burst waterlines breaks his heart. He can't help but pity them- then again, would this have happened if they had treated Burnish the way they did? Would this have happened if _Kray_ had treated Burnish the way he did?  
  


Slowly growing ever sourer, Lio stays close behind Galo as he moves up to what must be a hostess stand. There's a young woman behind it, with long curly black hair, tanned skin, and gentle brown eyes. Freckles dot her cheeks gently, accenting the bright grin that pops onto her face once she recognizes Galo.  
  
"AH!! Galo, you should have told me you were stopping by!!" She chirps, slapping down the menus she'd been carefully busying herself with, her eyes lighting up and her whole aura seemingly brightening.  
Galo, as always, responds in a loud and excited tone, his eyebrows pulling together as he laughs out a greeting, rubbing at the back of his neck.  
"Hey, Amelie!! It was a last-second decision, y'know I can't resist!! How's the old man, have you heard anything??"

"They're letting him out for now, but he's on house arrest. S'why I'm watching the place for right now. They're not sure what to do about the Governor Foresight situation yet, or the failed leadership they discovered on the Freeze Force's hands. They were disbanded today on the government's orders, did you hear?" She sighs, brushing some hair over her shoulder and leaning one elbow on her hostess stand.

"Everything is so wishy-washy now. No one has any idea what's happening." She sighs, scratching at her cheek idly. "At least Dad's okay. They don't know if treason on the count of the Burnish is still technically treason, now that they don't even exist; so a lot of the prisoners that had been taken in within the last week, last few _months_ are pending right now. A lot of the prisons fell apart during the quake so it's not like there's anywhere to hold them all either way. Anyway, I'll send your order to the back- your usual, I'm guessing?"

"Ah yeah, of course. Can't resist, it's my own personal weakness~ Every hero has one, after all! I'm glad to hear Pops is out at least, even if he's under house arrest. Tell him I said hey, yeah? Along with my usual, I think I'll grab an extra one just in case. Say, regular cheese or something! Surprise me, it'll be for my friend here~"

"Sure thing, Galo~" Amelie smiles, collects a notepad and pen, then turns to start her way into the back of the restaurant. Just before she goes, though, Lio sees her eyes flick to his curiously, for just a moment. It's like time slows down... all at once, he can see the fear, the confusion, the curiosity, the anger... it all flicks over her expression so fast. She recognizes him. After all the broadcasts of his capture, who wouldn't.  
He helped save the world. But he destroyed the world. He was the Mad Burnish leader.  
  
But the world would only ever see him as a monster. He'd accepted this already, but it still.. well. Stung. After everything. And... admittedly he's just so... squishy. Easily hurt, his walls which ALWAYS were topped with barbed wire and made with the strongest of concrete barriers had toppled with the anguish of the last few days.  
Her expression as she hurries into the back is mirrored on a few other people in the restaurant, those in raggedy blankets and those looking worse for the wear... they all pale like looking at a ghost as they realize who he is.  
His fingers feel numb.  
  
It was like his skin expected fire, expected to burn with a protective layer of flame, to be comforted by heat, but weren't. Instead.. they felt chilly.  
The pricks of numbness poke him with cold pins, then swords, then creep up his arms and into his chest. His mind races, adrenaline pumps, his breath hisses, and his hand covers his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut and hurrying back out the door.

Just the idea of cold, the guilt, the flameless anger, the hurt, and the _knowledge_ that he'd always be just that, it digs into his center, squeezes the air out of his lungs. As a Burnish, well that was one thing. He'd ALWAYS be a monster, who could spout fire... but as a human now, with a chance to be a regular person... it's weird to have his hope for redemption ripped away before he'd even lost the promare. As he hides by the bike, he knows Galo is behind him and keeps a hand on his back, but it's hard to tell what's happening otherwise. If he's speaking, the words don't make it past the ringing in Lio's ears. The world is spinning, his chest feels so cold, as though his heart is splintering back into ice. _It was happening again._  
Suddenly he can't breathe, he's on his knees and trying to hold himself up with a hand on the bike. His hands shudder, his vision starts to blur either from tears or an oncoming faint, but he can't tell.

He isn't sure when it happens, but soon he's aware of Galo's arms, gently wrapping around his torso and lifting him away from the ground. He expects them to freeze too, somehow, just from being close to him... but. They don't. As the sidewalk leaves his vision, the front of a dark blue t-shirt replaces it, and suddenly his cheek is pressed against _warmth._ His body is squished against heat, and... just like that, the furious stinging in his chest calms, little by little. The shaking of his hands gently comes to a stop, his breathing calms from hurried hyperventilating to a hiccup and a cough, the few tears in his eyes escaping to dampen the fabric wherever they touch.  
It's more than a few minutes like this, Lio can tell- but he.. doesn't want it to end. Not right away.

Not with how comforting it was. Not with how calming it was to listen to Galo's heart, beating like a drum who wants to be heard by the mountaintops.

After letting the silence hang for a moment, here on the sidewalk in front of _many_ onlookers, Lio sighs and turns his head- at least enough that he can talk without muffling it in Galo's fucking _surprisingly comfortable_ chest.  
"...why did you grab me like this." He asks.  
"You said you were cold. You know, the best way to transfer heat in an emergency is chest to chest. Technically shirtless, but luckily for you, I don't get naked for just _anything_." Galo cracks a weak smile, his hold loosening only slightly in order to let Lio adjust and stand.  
"How about.. we take the pies to go, and just head back to my place?"  
  
"...Yeah, that sounds good."

* * *

"So, I have another question," Lio mumbles around his slice of pizza, swimming in three blankets, Galo's own fire jacket, and a heated pillow.  
"I thought firefighters live at the firehouse. Your apartment is a few blocks away."  
  
Galo chuckles in amusement, taking a bite of pizza, yet immediately taking at least half the piece with it. It was amazing how fast he could vacuum this stuff up. "Well," He starts to speak through a full mouth, trying not to choke on a laugh and hurrying to chew and swallow once he notices the disgust on Lio's face. " _Well._ I am the UNIVERSE'S best firefighting idiot, but. I'mmm... still technically a trainee." He grins sheepishly, tilting his head and shrugging.  
"I'm technically not full time yet. So I don't have days that I'm supposed to stay overnight... then again, no one is really sure what's going to happen to Burning Rescue now that the Burnish are gone."

He looks thoughtful for once, popping the second half of his pizza slice into his mouth, then leaning back on the couch and crossing his arms behind his head.  
"A Burnish fire was alive and needed super advancements: ice guns, watering systems, advanced hydrants- but. If fires aren't going to be like that anymore, and firebugs- (oops, hehe sorry Lio,) _Burnish_ aren't around to start them anymore, fires won't happen nearly as often. And if they don't happen nearly as often.." He lets out a small sigh through his nose.  
"There's no telling what'll happen to all our resources now. But, that's an issue to deal with in the next coming months. Right now, our mission is to empty out the shelters and rehome all the ex-Burnish.  
That's mission number one, for both of us. We'll also.. have to figure out the whole ... Mad Burnish thing with the government, huh?"  
  
"Mmm. We were considered terrorists. But, we don't have powers anymore, and we always left escape routes. We've attacked humans before, but only in self-defense. So there's no way to tell how they'll decide to do it. Then again, with that old robot's work finally coming to light thanks to Aina, they'll know we just had to do it to survive."  
  
"They wouldn't throw you all in jail for just surviving, would they?"  
  
"Now that Kray and that dumb Colonel aren't around anymore... No one can say. But that's better than an automatic no."  
  
".. Do you know what _you're_ going to do after all this settles?"  
  
"...Not yet. But like you said. Mission one is rehoming and fixing up the city. We'll figure that out next."


	6. Chapter 6

There are so many names. He's been looking at them for hours, studying. Ren Siora, looking for mother (Eve) and brother (Dilan). Ren, and about three hundred others were all looking for.. _someone_. Anyone. Family, friends, significant others. The lists go on for a million years, he's been scrolling through the tablet Meis and Gueira had delivered about an hour and a half ago. Currently, they sat on Galo's couch, eagerly watching tv... normal shows had all been canceled, or halted midseason because of the disaster, but luckily they haven't seen _every_ rerun yet.

So far, Lio had drawn the lines between at least a dozen family relations- circling them off and moving the names to a separate document to await their reunion. And although about thirteen hundred burnish had survived the blaze(or, the Second World Blaze as the media was calling it), not everyone made it out without injuries. A hundred fifty were in hospitals' care for body parts that had already turned to dust and disappeared, and the document said at least eighty were receiving care for burns. Probably for the first time in... years.

Reminding himself that not everyone had been fixed before the promare had been released, Lio can't help but glance over at his arm and wiggle his fingers. Was it unfair for him to have gotten out of there relatively okay? He has all his fingers, toes, his heart is still beating... All thanks to Galo.

He'd been trying not to think about it, but, it _was_ all thanks to Galo that he'd even survived. He's said thanks, in his own silent way, but... Should he do more? What else could he say? Thanks for making sure I didn't die, but why did you do it?

His heart lurches at the thought that, _maybe Lio DID know why he did it._ After realizing he's read the same name eight times, Lio sighs and lays down the paperwork, pinching at his nose and rubbing at the back of his neck. The stress must be getting to him.  
  
  
It had only been a day or two after they'd gone out for pizza, that the government had collected itself enough to call Lio Fotia forth, for the crimes of Mad Burnish, and in a way, ALL burnish. He hadn't been cuffed, nor was there allowed to be an audience. It was just Lio, the judges, and a jury. Carefully, Lio had told his case.  
The burnish were special... the power wasn't theirs to accept, they needed to in order to survive. One judge had laughed and brought up the hundreds of _thousands_ of dollars in damages Lio had caused in his escape from the prison, in his rampage, _everything._..

In response, calmly, Lio had brought up the abuse from the system. How he had only been protecting- himself, and others. Self-defense was a legal reason to get out of a fight, it turns out. He wasn't the one to strike first- even thinking all the way back to the beginning of his clash with the Colonel... and even to more recent matters. Lio was always the one with the bullet in him. Always the one abused during capture- whether or not his snide comments had brought it upon himself, it's up to the government officials to not take the bait.

With his accusations bouncing against theirs, the courts settled for six _hundred_ hours of community service... The world needed rebuilding, and considering Lio would also make a good path of communication with the burnish... it was easier to wipe a clean slate than throwing him in jail. _Again._ Maybe the world was a little more understanding now that everyone could see that Kray was the villain here.. not the burnish.

Lio had to vouch for Meis and Gueira, who of course had been fucking around in the background far before Lio had taken the reins of the operation, with no other excuse than they were doing it to survive.... Several _hours_ of captured footage and conversations during fires say their personal reasons were otherwise, but hey.  
Everyone's tired, especially after something so shocking as a world catastrophe.  
  


Leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankles on the table, Lio sighs and crosses his arms over his torso. His head leans back against the chair, his eyes focus on the ceiling, and he fades off into his imagination.  
Zoning out fades into a nap soon, and quickly the quiet rest takes over his subconscious. His dreams are roiling tumbling nightmares, as per the usual. Most times he could curl up a little closer to the space-heater that was Galo and feel better, but he was out tonight at work... even if Lio was in bed, he'd still be tossing and turning by himself. He's revisited by the burning rumbling fury he'd experienced, and the momentary power of a thousand suns. He can see the world as it looked from space, and how it looked with the blue flame that he had made with Galo, and the promare...

The blue flame... it had been the prettiest fire he'd ever seen. And he'd done it with Galo. Together they could make amazing things, maybe it was time he admitted it...

And.. where else was he supposed to spend all his community service OTHER than the station, beside Galo?

He's woken up by a weird squeal an hour or two later, the discomfort of his body pricking at his skin and the lethargy of sleep fighting the movement in his limbs as he pulls his heels off the table and sits properly. With an exhausted-looking glare, he glances over towards the couch, staring holes through Gueira's back. Both he, and Meis (of whom was, seemingly, comfortably wedged beneath Gueira) freeze immediately, sheepish embarrassed grins each flashing in Lio's direction.

"Sorry boss-" Gueira sweats, climbing off of Meis who equally looks furiously embarrassed.  
"He bit down too hard on my neck, we were trying to be quiet I promise-"

Lio sighs and pinches at the bridge of his nose, feeling a tiny bit of jealousy form a hard stone in his stomach before he flicks his hand towards the ceiling in annoyance. "Whatever, you two do you. I'm heading to bed, and since you're staying over, you can unfold the couch into the bed and just share. But god, don't wreck anything, this isn't _my_ apartment and it certainly isn't yours." He grumbles, picking a blanket off his chair then balling it up to throw at them.

Once the blanket bounces off Gueira's head and flops onto the floor, Lio decides his job is done and moves towards the bedroom, hands in his pockets, sleep weighing down his shoulders, and thoughts about Galo clogging his mind.

If only Galo were here, he could use some cuddling to get his mind off things...

Well, at least having the bed to himself this time meant he could strip down to just a shirt. Why not, if he's got the bed to himself, might as well be as comfy as possible. Flopping onto the covers, he sighs for a moment and allows exhaustion to melt him into the blankets ever so slightly. But sleeping alone, now... it's not the same as it is sleeping with Galo. How was he ever supposed to survive once he moves out, and gets his own apartment?  
Is.. that really want he WANTS to do?

After several minutes of sitting in the dark and quiet to no avail, carefully he pulls the pillow from Galo's side of the bed over and buries his nose into it...  
It smells like him. Like... stupid, axe body spray, and ... wood. Fire. Lio tells himself that that's the only reason he likes the smell so much, and that that's the only reason why he's out cold almost immediately after hugging the pillow close.


	7. Chapter 7

He's.. exhausted. It's like walking on jello; like his muscles have ceased existing, and his numb bones were the only things carrying him around. Putting the key into the lock requires an extraordinary amount of concentration, the very end of the key scratching at the lock's metallic paint gently before finding it's place. His wrist twists ever so slightly, causing the relieving click to sound from the handle. After clumsily pocketing the key again, Galo sighs and opens the door, stepping into his apartment.

He nearly trips on the fold-out couch as he does, his eyes straining to see in the early dawn light coming through the window. Those guys... Well, he DID give Lio permission to have them come over and keep him company... He didn't expect their clothes to be strewn all over the floor. And... hanging off a lamp, and the corner of the tv... Then again, he was too tired to care. Shuffling around the edge of the pull-out bed, he keeps a hand on the wall just to steady himself.

He's been working for the last twenty-four hours, and coincidentally, he didn't get much of that time to sleep. Things have been rough.. they've been used as extra hands-on-deck for various disaster relief groups in a few different areas, working on rebuilding, replacing, and figuring out how to fight _normal_ fires...

If they even need to, anymore. With the defense systems in place, the non-living fires tend to fizzle out before they get too big to handle. He assumes the fire department will stay on hand just in case that ever happens... But without burnish causing the blazes, he can't see how it'll ever be that way again.

His tired mind just makes him depressed, a cold sad realization gently laying itself upon the already exhausted slump on his shoulders as he moves down the hall, and towards his bed. His eyes feel like they've glazed over from just how tired he is, the illuminated numbers on his alarm clock almost not registering... 6:30 in the morning... well, at least it was time for him to get some good shut-eye.

His bag is tossed over by the doorway, and his hands stumble in his attempt to pull off his shirt. It takes a few more minutes than he would've liked, but once he's pulling on pajama pants and levering himself into bed, it's all worth it...

For a moment he can feel a stab of cold worry darting through his chest... the blankets were still arranged decently, and not in a massive ball around Lio on the other end of his bed... For a moment, he's terrified that Lio had left, in the night. Not that being left with Meis or Gueira in his living room was _especially_ bad, but... the thought of Lio leaving, it didn't spark the bright and eager competitive nature in him. He didn't have the energy to give chase at the moment. Not in this time, not like this- it would only sting, and hurt...

He doesn't have enough brainpower to full out panic after such a long shift, but anxiety still hums around in his stomach like angry wasps, so his fingers search beneath the blanket and towards the pillows on Lio's side. He's glad to finally make contact with warmth; Lio was cuddling with his pillow, then? It nearly hid him entirely from sight. It was still surprising that the blankets hadn't been wadded up into his personal nest as they had been for the last few nights...

Obviously, Galo doesn't mind HOW the bed looks... the wave of relief that comes with finding Lio there made his heart full and warm either way. Carefully he lays down, splaying out his limbs across the blankets, making sure not to bother the other _too_ much. He can't help the sigh of relief that slides out of his lips though, his fingertips digging through his hair as he closes his eyes and starts to melt into the bedsheets.

After a moment or two of laying in silence, he huffs out a breath through his nose and rolls over to pull Lio close. He had _his_ pillow tightly clutched in his arms, after all- this was just payback, in a way. 

Lio always smelled so... good. Like roses, or something. Does he even wear cologne? What if he wears perfume??? Did Galo ever remember seeing Lio do anything like that?????

God, he must be exhausted if he's wondering why Lio's hair smells so good. What time was it now.. 6:45?? Did he really spend fifteen minutes on that???

His eyes squeeze shut as he stifles a groan, his arm pulling Lio to his chest as he lets out a long sigh. He prepares for sleep, _finally_ , but the gentle stirrings of Lio pique his interest...

At least, enough to stave off sleep for just a little longer...

Lio grumbles, then huffs and puffs as he rolls over, complaining quietly about something incomprehensible. His breath sounds heavy, then his eyes open slowly, looking like he's still sleeping as he peeks over at Galo. "..-elcome home..." He mumbles, Galo watching as he presses their foreheads together.

"Go back to sleep." Galo responds just the same, unable to keep the cheeky grin from growing as he nuzzles his nose against Lio's cheek and stretches out. Lio responds with something that sounds like it might be 'ok' as he buries his face into Galo's neck, and grows quiet and heavy again.

Galo pauses, just to be sure Lio's asleep once more, then lets out a soft breath through his nostrils. Finally, he could just relax and drift away into unconsciousness.  
  


* * *

  
"He's been sleeping for like, eight _years_."

"Maybe we should say something??? What time did you say he got home?"

"He crawled into bed at like, five in the morning. The sun wasn't even up."  
  


"If I do the math??? That's like, ten hours. What time is it, what time is it- look, LOOK, it's like, 4 pm!!" Gueira hisses, continuously trying to stay "quiet" as he shakes his cellphone around. The timestamp on the front does in fact say 3:45 pm... "If _I_ slept that long, I'd be slain, that's so unfair!"

" _You_ also didn't work twenty-four hours straight, Gueira." Lio sighs, sipping at some coffee as he continues looking over his digital paperwork. "Galo's department does special shifts. There aren't enough firefighters in their particular team, so they do specialized hours. It's not just some nine to five. The teams split up the week, doing every other day essentially..." Lio mumbles into his mug, eyebrows pulling together as he scrolls furiously for a name he could've SWORN he'd seen earlier.

Meis scratches at his cheek, eyebrows raised and bored as he listens. He tries to pretend his eyes don't slide over to the tv playing in the background, but honestly, Lio doesn't take offense.  
"So... You already know all about these specialized hours?" Meis asks, his gaze sliding back over to Lio's expression, then quirking a cheeky eyebrow once he's got Lio's attention.  
"How long have you two been talking like that?"

Instantly defensive, Lio's eyebrows pull together and his fingers grip the tablet in his hands a little harder. What was with THAT tone?! Why'd Meis have to look at him like that! So WHAT if he knew Galo's schedule, they were temporarily sharing living spaces, SHOULDN'T he know???  
"We talked about our particular schedules considering we're living in the same quarters for the time being. I should know if he's going to come home suddenly."

"Yeah, but you also share a bed. And personal information like his entire work schedule and why it's like that? Boss, it's almost looking like you're becoming a house cat." Meis sneers playfully, Gueira looking up from his mobile game to cough out a laugh and nod furiously. "Yeah boss, if you two were gonna hook up the least you could do was tell us so we weren't third and fourth wheeling..."

"...Wait, would it technically be a double date, Meis??"  
"Not if there's no actual date taking place, Gueira."

Lio bites at his lip as they start to squabble over what's technically a date and what isn't, his fingers coming up to rub at his temple carefully. They bring up an interesting point, considering it's been on his mind for an eternity now. What were they? Does he say something to Galo? If Galo doesn't feel the same, is it just... unwanted affection? Would it kill whatever bond they'd created thus far?  
Oh, he's tired. He doesn't want to answer these questions right now.  
"Will the both of you shut up, I'm trying to get some more work in with the survivors." He hisses dejectedly, feeling a lot like he's losing the fight, considering the expressions on their faces spell 'victory.'

"Aw, it's okay, Lio. You don't have to be upset about it, with love, it works out eventually if it's meant to be~" Gueira explains, one finger raised towards the ceiling as though he's having a teaching moment. This only has Meis laughing and hugging at his stomach, his eyebrows knitting together.  
"Gueira shut the fuck up, we only ACTUALLY got together because I was the one who asked!! You don't have a right to school _Lio_ on love!"  
"I kept getting embarrassed, SUE me!! Either way, it was meant to be so it happened!!!"

"I'm gonna go see if Galo's up yet." Lio groans, tensely rubbing at his face as he sets the tablet on the table and walks out of the room; god, he's exhausted. It was so nice to have them around without dealing with the threat of death constantly, but it was also _absolutely ridiculous dealing with them without the distraction of the threat of death._

That was a lie, he loves them like family. But oh boy can he only deal with so much ball-busting.

He tiptoes down the hall towards the bedroom despite the fact Gueira and Meis are _hardly_ attempting to be quiet in the background, his fingers like air on the door as they push it open just enough for him to slide inside. It was true, Galo had been working for the last full twenty-four hours, and he definitely deserved the rest, but Lio was getting antsy without that bright grin, or those strangely sharp yet soft eyes. Was the little ache that just wanted to spend time with Galo _really_ interested in this big buff dumbass, or was it just... the attachment in sharing a stressful situation picking at his subconscious..?

His chest feels warm as he gently sits on the bed, beside a still-out-cold Galo. Muffled snoring is a promising indicator that he's in a pretty deep sleep, so Lio decides not to wake him.... even though he really wants to. That face... it was the first thing he'd seen after dying. After actually, legitimately dying.

It was Galo's job to save people; he'd said it before. He's trained in emergency medical care. Lio wonders, for just a moment, if it was Galo's instincts that saved him, or the firefighter's own will. He knows the answer, but the question popped into his focus anyway.

Lost in thought over everything considering Galo, his fingertips graze the line of Galo's jaw. Stubbly... he wonders if Galo could grow a beard if he didn't shave. Or if firefighters shouldn't have beards, considering they might burst into flame during a fire.

His touch seems to awaken Galo... or, at least pull him out of the dark dreamless sleep he'd been in. His eyebrow twitches and tenses up, his jaw clenching and his fingers grabbing handfuls of the blankets... In surprise, Lio pulls his hand back instantly, worried he'd hurt the other or something, but Galo doesn't open his eyes just yet. He's... writhing in his sleep?

"Lio-" Galo coughs out, his chest heaving and his shoulders shuddering. His breathing sounds desperate; either that, or it's just the fact he's talking in his normal sleep functions. Lio doesn't know if he should interrupt, or help out or something.. Would that even be acceptable? Wasn't it bad to wake up someone who was sleep... walking? Does talking count? Galo's never done this before, is it a bad sign?

Lio almost... feels awkward about this. Should he leave, and give Galo some... well. Privacy? What if he says something Lio shouldn't hear?

He doesn't get up to leave immediately, but once he _does_ , a strangled sob interrupts his movement, causing him to freeze up like a deer in a car's headlights. Was there also a quiet... "Kray" at the end of it?? Maybe.. it _would_ be best to wake him up...

Leaning over Galo now, Lio carefully sets a hand on his shoulder to gently shake him, the tears starting to creep down Galo's cheeks making several alarms go off in the back of Lio's head. "Galo, wake up. It's okay.." He whispers, squeezing at that shoulder gingerly in the most comforting way he can. "Wake up, it's just a bad dream."

And when those eyes snap open, Lio's both relieved... and frozen once more- this time, unsure of how to respond. Tears still leak sadly down Galo's cheeks, but the way he looks like.. such a _child_ for a moment- sad and lost, it makes Lio's heart _ache_. Galo looks surprised to find himself awake and disoriented for just a second, at least until the emotions catch up and his eyebrows pinch together. He sucks down a hard breath, letting it out in another broken sounding sob as one of his hands moves to cover his mouth.

"Galo...?"

_"Lio..."_


	8. Chapter 8

Galo's dreams were haunting. Looming figures of his childhood hero laugh in his face, hurt him, attack him, while the torture of millions picks at his mind. He could feel it all, stinging his skin, burning his lungs, making him feel like he was burning alive. He knew that burning feeling, after all his arm had been singed only like, two weeks ago, and he was STILL struggling to heal from it. His nightmares let up for only a moment, before he's thrown into somewhere he recognizes.. and dreads.

The walls are ages away, decorated by cells of burnish, and nothing remains on the platform but tubes, wires, and rubble. In the center there's an awful looking little stone orb, and for half a minute Galo is able to stand, and look around- he hates this place, and he doesn't use the word lightly. Since then the actual physical ship has started being pulled apart for scrap metal, but here... in his subconscious, it looks just the same as it did. He knows what's coming, but the deafening silence is the thing that gets him the most.

His shoes knock away pebbles as he moves towards the center of the floating island in the middle of the Parnassus, his eyes trained on the stone ball... He knew it was coming, but Lio's heartbreaking screams of pain suddenly blaring out in the silence stabs him over and over all over again. It hurt, he was hurting, Galo could rescue him he just needed to know where he was, he wasn't even in the area, the chamber was still empty. The screams come from everywhere, with no definable source; panic still attacks Galo's body as he whips around in the rubble, his shouts for Lio lost in the screeching. He- he had to be around here somewhere!!!

In his awful desperate searching, Galo pauses, his eyes finally factoring another figure on the platform; he was already so close to tears just hearing Lio in pain, but seeing Kray standing there, prim and proper, looking perfectly fine with the situation pushes him over the edge.  
"KRAY!!!  
WHAT DID YOU DO WITH LIO? WHERE IS HE, YOU KNOW DON'T YOU?" Galo screams before he can stop himself, storming up to Kray and throwing a punch before his ex-childhood hero can respond. His fist connects with what feels like _rock,_ but that doesn't stop another punch, and another and another.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO ALL THIS?? WE WERE HAPPY, EVERYTHING WAS OKAY BETWEEN US, I!!!!! I...!!  
Why did you do all this... I'm glad the burnish are free, but why did you.. why did everything..  
Why...?" Galo cries, dropping to his knees and pressing his palms over his ears, not sure what to do, not sure what any of this means, not sure what's even happening...  
  
"Because I hated you from the moment I met you." The Kray responds in a whisper, though the words still slide right through Galo's gloves. Kray's image slowly begins to melt into the worst part of him; sharp eyes, crazy smile, burnish arm, awful wings and unkempt hair.  
"It didn't take much to figure out. You're just an idiot." He says calmly despite his appearances, drawing a leg back and swinging it with all his might at Galo's face, forcing the firefighter to look and finally notice, a pile of ashes in the shape of Lio.  
Somehow, even though Kray was right there, seeing those ashes rips Galo up like nothing he's ever experienced before.  
He was too late.  
  
 _Lio...  
  
_ "Galo?"  
  
Somehow, opening his eyes to find Lio looking at him, perfectly fine, even in one of his old t-shirts finds Galo drifting in a sea of relief- the momentary surprise making him almost forget to breath, before he chokes out another sob and forces a hand over his mouth, trying to ignore the way tears hurry down his cheeks- as if they have somewhere to be or something.  
"I'm sorry- I-I'm sorry," He hisses out in between hiccups, trying to hurry and wipe away his tears before they can fall. Galo sits up quickly and nearly smashes foreheads with Lio, just in an attempt to act like it was no big deal and that he was fine.  
"I just. Had a really bad dream,"  
  
Lio's face is unreadable, and for a moment Galo feels worse- what if Lio thought he was a baby? Or gross, or that he couldn't trust Galo with HIS feelings because Galo was in such a sorry state..?  
Though a moment later Lio's hands are on his cheeks, squishing them together in an attempt to shut him up, probably.  
"Hey. It's good to know I'm not the only one who cries, Strong, Tough, Galo Thymos." Lio whispers, his thumbs rubbing beneath Galo's eyes to catch any stray tear there. The little, easy movement feels so.. intimate. Galo almost doesn't know how to respond to it, other than openly appreciating it. If he didn't think it would be weird, perhaps he would have even settled his hand over one of Lio's...  
  
Lio blinks at Galo's face, then chuckles ever so gently.  
"It's good to get emotions out, and things like that.. Keeping them bottled up will cause you to pop. You know, I'll listen if you need to talk. Do you um.. want me to grab you some coffee meanwhile?"  
"...yeah, I think that would help. Hey Lio?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Thanks."  
"Pfft.. all I did was wake you up from a bad dream, nothing special- it's the least I can do, since I can't even cook, or provide rent yet."  
  
Galo snorts halfheartedly, tossing the blankets off his legs as Lio stands and moves towards the door. "Shut up, you know I don't care about that, Lio. You can stay as long as you need."  
"I can't share your bed forever, Thymos. It's already bad enough with those two on the couch asking me if we're together. Now, hold your rebuttal for a minute, I'll go grab you that coffee."  
  


* * *

  
Lio gently closes the bedroom door behind him, and lets out a long soft breath. He wasn't good at emotions, not after years of being on the run, of dealing with death around every corner.. he didn't have time to deal with tears, or how his anxiety felt on any given day.. There wasn't such thing as _"I'm not feeling up to it today, can we raincheck"_ while running for his life. He's been through so much. They both have. Galo fell hundreds of feet onto the hard metal roof of the Parnassus, and that wasn't even the most physically difficult thing he had to do. Lio quietly sits against the wall in the hallway, sliding down into a crouched position for just a moment.  
He just needed a quick breather.  
Did Galo really mean it, by saying Lio could stay as long as he wanted..?  
Even so, Lio couldn't just stay and accept that, could he??  
  
He keeps rolling the thought around in his head as he steps back into the kitchen/living room area, passing the other two (of whom were busy arguing playfully over who was the worst at driving) at the table and moving on to the cupboards in the kitchen.  
This time he grabs a mug flawlessly, and sets the pot to get started. He leans against the kitchenette now, watching Meis and Gueira start to poke at each other, then wrestle, and immediately flop back onto the fold out couch-bed in order to complain some more, and turn on the tv. More reruns...  
Lio's eyes hover over to the show they put on in mild disinterest, crossing his arms over his chest and zoning out in thought.  
  
Should he just put aside his busy work, to look for another apartment? It would have to be nearby, since he had so much volunteer work due, and the actual fire department wasn't that far from Galo's...  
Maybe... Meis and Gueira were right.. Was he being too.. parasitic, allowing himself to be cared for in such a manner? Reentering normal society wouldn't.. be easy.. And even then, he was on constant surveillance, as were his two cohorts here. They had community service too, but had both decided to use it to help in a soup kitchen for the homeless ex-burnish in the shelters.  
At least they'd be fed, till they found jobs, and livelihoods again.  
  
Lio's eyes pull from the tv and move towards a little window above the sink, peering out at a bright sunny day... birds chitter excitedly in plants hanging off the sill, the rooves of the buildings nearby all have scaffolding and men at work, but the city seems so much more.. upbeat.  
Hopeful.  
Perhaps he should stop worrying. This was as good a place as any to call home base..  
He'll just get a second job, and pay rent.  
They'll be roommates, it'll be easier that way.  
  
He's so lost in thought he almost doesn't see Galo move out into the kitchen; the movement only catches his attention because Galo decides to pour himself a coffee using the mug Lio had taken down for him.  
"Oh- I was gonna bring it to you, you know. To make you feel better and all." Lio laughs ever so slightly, taking a step to the side so Galo could access the sugar dish on the counter behind him.  
"I know I know, but then I saw the time and figured I'd get up anyway. And, it's my day off, I might as well get up and enjoy it."  
"Any plans for said day off?"  
"Nah, I figured we'd just sit and chill out. If you wanna make plans though, I _might_ be able to pencil you in."  
  
Lio snorts, and pours himself a coffee too, enjoying the warmth that sears his fingers once he lifts the mug to his lips.  
"Well," He continues, speaking into the coffee. "If you have no plans... We could probably try going out to eat again, if you're up to it."  
"Are... you sure?"  
"I think we both deserve a break. Plus... I think I can handle it, this time. At the very least, I'm willing to try, if you are."  
"I think I can make time for that..~"  
  
  
"Are you two gonna kiss yet or w- _OW!"_


End file.
